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Language of the Silman People
General information Phonology Consonants Vowels Alphabet 1 = ng can only occur in the middle or in the end of a word. 2 = y is an "empty vowel" and does not occur in word stems. Phonotactics TLOTSP does not have consonant clusters in native words. TLOTSP does have many vowel clusters (diphthongs) - every vowel combination is possible. Please note that /y/ is an "empty vowel" and doesn't occur in words (except letters) - therefore, no diphthongs containing /y/ exist. Grammar Nouns In TLOTSP, nouns are declined for ... #their gender - human, animal, plant, rock or water / air #their number - singular, plural or collective #their case - nominative, genetive, adessive, ablative, accusative or oblique Gender The gender of a Silmanese noun is indicated by the vowel with which a noun ends. #Human nouns end in -a. #Animal nouns end in -e. #Plant nouns end in -i. #Rock nouns end in -o. #Water / Air nouns end in -u. The gender of a noun depends on the meaning of a noun. The human / animal / plant gender is given to humans / animals / plants or nouns related to them. The rock gender is given to everything that is solid (and neither human nor animal nor plant). The water / air gender is given to everything that is not solid (and neither human nor animal nor plant). Please note that one word stem can have multiple genders (up to all five). Number The number of a Silmanese noun is indicated by a consonantal suffix. #The singular is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The plural is indicated by -n. #The collective is indicated by -l. The singular describes one part of a group and the plural describes many parts of a group (like in English). The collective means all parts of a group. Case The case of a Silmanese noun is also indicated by a consonantal suffix. #The nominative case is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). It is used for the agent in active clauses and the patient in passive clauses. #The genetive case is indicated by -m. It is used for possesion or quality. #The adessive case is indicated by -r. It is used for indirect objects, salutation, future goals or directions towards something. #The ablative case is indicated by -s. It is used for the agent in passive clauses, past reasons or the direction away from something. #The accusative case is indicated by -t. It is used for the direct object in active clauses. #The oblique case is indicated by -x. It is used for time, place, manner, length, company, instruments (and more) and after every adposition. All the suffixes are then added in the following order: Note that a y is added between consonants to avoid clusters. To form an adjective out of a noun, you take the genetive singular form - but you use "-y" instead of any gender suffix. Verbs In TLOTSP, verbs are conjugated for ... #their person - first, second or third #their number - singular, plural or collective #their tense - present, numerical past or numerical future #their voice - active or passive #their mood - indicative, subjunctive or imperative Person The person of a Silmanese verb is indicated by a vocalic suffix: #The first person is indicated by -a. #The second person is indicated by -o. #The third person is indicated by -e. Number The number of a Silmanese verb is indicated by a consonantal suffix: #The singular is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The plural is indicated by -n. #The collective is indicated by -l. Tense The tense of a Silmanese verb is indicated by a vocalic suffix: #The present is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The numerical past is indicated by -u + number (bigger than one) #The numerical future is indicated by -i + number (bigger than one) Numerical tenses are a way of indicating how far something is in the past or in the future. The lower the number, the nearer something is to the present - therefore, the first past happened after the second past and the first future will happen before the second future. Voice The voice of a Silmanese verb is indicated by a consonantal suffix: #The active is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The passive is indicated by -k. Mood The mood of a Silmanese verb is indicated by a vocalic suffix: #The indicative is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The subjunctive is indicated by -esh. #The imperative is indicated by -ef. All the suffixes are then added in the following order: Note that a y is added between consonants to avoid clusters. Silmanese verbs also have infinitives. To form an infinitive, you simply leave out the person and number suffixes. Silmanese verbs can also form participles which are verbal adjectives. To form these, the suffix "-yng" is added to the infinitive. Adjectives In TLOTSP, adjectives are declined for ... #their gender - human, animal, plant, rock or water / air #their number - singular, plural or collective #their case - nominative, genetive, adessive, ablative, accusative or oblique #their grade of comparison - positive, (positive or negative) comparative or (positive or negative) superlative The declension for gender / number / case is identical to the declension of nouns. Grade of comparison The grade of comparison is indicated by vocalic suffix: #The positive is indicated by -Ø (empty suffix). #The positive comparative is indicated by -a. #The negative comparative is indicated by -e. #The positive superlative is indicated by -i. #The negative superlative is indicated by -o. The suffixes are then added in the following order: All adjectives have to agree with their noun in gender / number / case. However, if the adjectives are placed directly before the noun, they usually lose all suffixes but the grade of comparison suffix. 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